Diaphragm introducer



April 10, 1951 COEL 2,548,775

DIAPHRAGM INTRODUCER Filed March 22, 1949 g 16 J4 12 1/ 14 18 LQE ZZZZ ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 10, 1951 DIAPHRAGM INTRODUCER t Leo Coel, New York, N. Y., assignor to Holland- Rantos Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a 001'? ,j poration of New York Claims. 1

The present invention relates to introducers of the type for facilitating insertion into the vaginal canal of a conventional flexible diaphragm to cover the cervix.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an instrument of the above type, of simple and rugged construction that may readily be sterilized and by the use of which the diaphragm may be readily released from its tensed position on the instrument by operation wholly from the exterior, without the need for shifting ormovement of the inserted instrument, so that the unskilled user, without assistance from a physician or nurse, incurs no danger of injury to the delicate tissues or to the diaphragm itself and is yet ascomprises a unitary rod ID of generally familiar form which may be of metal but is preferably of plastic such as Lucite and has the usual rounded contour with a rounded upper side and a rounded lower side, the forward portion being generally convex on its upper side and concave on its lower, and the rear half being concave on its upper side and convex on its lower. The forward end of the rod is preferably provided with a groove I I across its width for accommodating the forward portion of the rim I2 of the stretched diaphragm to be introduced.

According to the invention, the rear portion of the stretched diaphragm positioned on the introducer, is anchored by a hook I3 which is the upwardly extending hooked end of a lever I4 of relatively flat stock preferably of the same material as the rod, such as Lucite. That lever is accommodated in an elongated slot I 5 longitudinal- Application March 22, 1949, Serial No. 82,838

1y through the thickness of the rod Ill. The lever curved as at I8, the width of the lever from the curved edge I8 to the tip of toe I'I vloeingeon siderably greater than the thickness of the rod I 0. I 1 I The lever I4 is preferably concave at its lower edge in such manner that when it is depressed about its pivot pin I6 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, the lower edge I9 of the forward arm I 4 thereof extend substantially wholly within the contourof the rod, in which position the'major if not the entire length of the curved lower edge I8 of the rear arm I4 protrudesbelow the underside of the rod I0.

Means is desirably'provided for limiting the pivotingfmovement of the lever'between one extreme shown in'full lines in "Fig.3, in which its hooked forward end I3 protrudes, for anchoring the diaphragm rim I2, and the; other extreme shown in broken lines in which the hooked end I3 is shown whollywithdrawn to lie withinthe contour of the rod. The stop means is preferably wholly within the contour of. therod to' avoid pos sible injury to the user. :Preferably' thisstop is in the formof a pin 20 in the rod across the slot I'5- thereof andsimilar to'fulcrum pin I6. Pin 20 may extend across and through an arcuateslot 2| in the lever, engagement of the upper end of which by the pin determines the lowermost or release position of the lever and engagement of the lower end of which determines the upper or diaphragm hooking position of the lever. While the arcuate slot 2| described may be disposed in the rear part of the lever for coaction with a limiting pin at that region, it is generally preferred to dispose said element at the forward part of the lever, as shown in the drawings.

In use of the instrument the upwardly protruding toe H at the rear of the lever is depressed by the thumb and the diaphragm rim I2 stretched from the groove I I at the forward end of the rod over the now protruding hook end I3 of the lever, as best shown in Fig. 3; After insertion of the diaphragm to the limiting position as shown in Fig. 1, the user needmerely press against the lower protruding edge I8 of the rear arm of the lever or more simply need merely draw her finger rearward along said protruding edge to cam the rear end of the lever upward into the slot l5 and thereby depress the forward hook end I3 theree of to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3, with consequent release of the diaphragmfrom said hook so that said diaphragm pressed in place by the forward end of the rod- I0 willcontract to its unstressed position in correct emplacement over the cervix. The introducer thus disen agedfrom the emplaced diaphragm may then readily be withdrawn.

It will thus be seen that the introduction of the diaphragm is effected by a simple thrust of the rod I into the body and the release of the diaphragm is effected without the need for raising, lowering, rocking or effecting any other movement of any character whatsoever of the rod, the forward end of which has been pushed to limiting position. The simple diaphragm release movement of the lever occurs by operation near the outer end of the vaginal canal and cannot possibly cause any injury since the hook end I3 is thereby drawn into the contour of the rod and the lower now protruding edge IQ of the forward end of the lever is effectively rounded and therefore entirely safe.

In a preferred embodiment shown, the rod I0. lever l4 and its pivot pin it as well as stop pin 20 are of universal applicability to be assembled for an instrument to introduce a diaphragm of any selected size within the ranges commonly manufactured. To this end the slot I5 is made at least twice the length of the lever as shown, and the positioning of the fulcrum pin it in assembly of the parts determines the distance between the groove H and the lever hooking end I3. Thus the device would be made in various models that differ from oneanother merely in the position of the fulcrum pin [6 and the associated stop pin 20.

If desired, the device could be initially fabricated with a series of transverse holes so that the initial assembly could be effected to produce an introducer for the selected size of diaphragm by selection of the appropriate hole for accommodating the fulcrum pin. It is preferred, however, as shown, in the interest of sterilization, to provide each rod H! with only the two transverse pin holes shown, viz., a hole for the fulcrum pin I B and a hole for the stop pin 20.

As many changes could made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims,

it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a diaphragm introducer, the combination of a rod having a diaphragm engaging groove at its forward end and having a lever fulcrumed and accommodated in a longitudinal slot through the thickness of said rod, said lever having a forward upstanding diaphragm engaging hook end protruding above the rod, said lever having means near the rear end thereof engageable by the hand of the user to pivot the lever about its fulcrum and thereby withdraw the forward protruding hook end thereof into the slot of the rod.

2. In a diaphragm introducer, the combination of unitary rod having a diaphragm engaging notch at its forward end, said rod having a lever accommodated in a longitudinal slot through the thickness of said rod, a fulcrum pin extending across said rod and through said lever between the ends of the latter, said lever having an upstanding diaphragm engaging hook at its forward end and having portions thereof at its rear end protruding bot-h below and above the rod when the diaphragm engaging hook is protruding above the rod.

3. In a diaphragm introducer, the combination of a unitary rod having a diaphragm engaging groove at its forward end, a diaphragm engaging hook protruding from the upper side of said rod and spaced from said groove by the distance of the stretched diaphragm rim for which the introducer is designed, said hook being the forward end of a lever, said lever being accommodated in a longitudinal slot through the thickness of said rod, the fulcrum of said lever being a pin therethrough across the slot and mounted at its ends in the rod, said lever having near its rear portion an upwardly extending part depressible by the user to bring the diaphragmengaging hook into active position above the upper side of the rod and having a portion near its rear projecting from the lower side (if the rod for displacement by the user to pivot the forward end of the lever downward for disengaging the hook end of said lever from the diaphragm.

4. A diaphragm introducer comprising a unitary rod having a diaphragm-anchoring groove at its forward end, a diaphragm-engaging hook protruding from the upper side of said rod and spaced from said groove by the distance of the stretched diaphragm rim for which the introducer is designed, said hook being the forward end of a lever of relatively flat stock accommodated in a corresponding longitudinal slot through the thickness of said rod, said lever having a fulcrum comprising a pin through the width of said rod across said slot and through the thickness of said lever, said lever having a manually controlled rear end protruding above the upper side of said rod to effect by depression thereof, a pivotal movement of the lever to dispose the diaphragm hooking end thereof in operative position above the upper side of the rod, and having means protruding below the under side of the rod to permit manual lifting of said end for withdrawal of the diaphragm hooking end of the lever for diaphragm release.

5. The combination recited in claim 4 in which the main length of the forward arm-0f the lever is substantially completely within the contour of the rod when the hook end thereof is in elevated or diaphragm-holding position and the rear arm of the lever protrudes well below the under side Of the rod.

6. The combination recited in claim 4 in which the main length of the forward arm of the lever extends substantially wholly within the contour of the rod when the hook end thereof is in protruding or operative position and the rear arm of the lever protrudes well below the under side of the rod and presents an arcuate lower edge to admit of camming movement of the lever for release of the diaphragm by pressing and sliding the index finger rearwardly therealong to press said protruding lever arm upwardly into the slot of the rod.

7. A diaphragm introducer comprising a rod having a diaphragm engaging groove at its forward end, a lever accommodated along its entire length in a slot through the thickness of said rod and having a fulcrum pin anchored in the rod, extending across the width of the slot and through the lever, said lever having a diaphragm engaging hook at its forward end, said rod having stop means coacting with said lever to limit the range of pivotal movement thereof between diaphragmengaging and diaphragm-release positions thereof.

8. A diaphragm introducer comprising a rod having a diaphragm engaging groove at itsforward end, a lever accommodated along its entire length in a slot through the thickness of said rod and having a fulcrum pin anchored in the rod extending across the width of the slot and through the lever, said lever having a diaphragm engaging hook at its forward end, said rod having stop means coacting with said lever to limit the range of pivotal movement thereof between diaphragm-engaging and diaphragm-release positions thereof, said stop means being wholly within the contour of the rod.

9. A diaphragm introducer comprising a rod having a diaphragm engaging groove at its forward end, a lever accommodated in a slot through the thickness of said rod and having a fulcrum pin anchored in the rod, extending across the width of the slot and through the lever, said lever having a diaphragm engaging hook at its forward end, said rod having stop means coacting with said lever to limit the range of pivotal movement thereof between diaphragm-engaging and diaphragm-release positions thereof, said stop means being a pin across the slot of said rod and extending through a corresponding slot in the lever near one end of the latter.

10. A diaphragm introducer comprising a rod havin a, diaphragm engaging groove at its forward end, a lever accommodated in a slot through the thickness of said rod and having a fulcrum pin anchored in the rod, extending across the width of the slot and through the lever, said lever having a diaphragm engaging hook at its forward end, said rod having stop means coacting with said lever to limit the range of pivotal movement thereof between diaphragm-engaging and diaphragm-release positions thereof, said stop means comprising a pin through the width of the rod extending across the slot thereof near the forward hook end of the lever, said pin extending through an arcuate slot in said hook end, the under end of said slo-t defining the upper limit of movement of the hook end of the lever and the upper end of said slot limiting the Withdrawal movement of said hook end of the lever.

LEO COEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,008,380 Bachmann July 16, 1935 2,218,009 Schmitz Oct. 15, 1940 2,446,724 Schmitz Aug. 10, 1948 

